Moments (Stargate Atlantis Edition)
by nanduenkop
Summary: A collection of one-shots based in various episodes. Posted: Chapter 10 - 1x04 - Suspicion "Finally...we might actually get a few answers that make sense here without Captain America going ape-**** crazy..." Bates goes hunting for evidence.
1. Episode 1x01 No 1

**Author's Note: This series is just a bunch of little one-shot moments I like to imagine happened in various episodes throughout the series. There might only be one in an episode, or eight or ten. It just depends on the episode.**

**Oh, and don't count on anything outside these first few chapters being in an order that makes sense. After that, it'll be a lot of jumping around as I rewatch episodes, and highly dependent upon the type of mood I'm on on viewing. **

**Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a review! **

* * *

_"I think I felt something… it might be lunch related." - Beckett  
"Shut up and concentrate." – McKay_

* * *

Hours.  
It was going to take hours to fix the hole in the dome – even with spare panels in storage, it was going to take hours (days, really) to get one hoisted and sealed properly into place.  
In the meantime, who knew what kind of gaps there could be between the dome itself and the sparse covering over the hole the drone breaking through on its homicidal mission to destroy General O'Neil and his pilot had created.  
All because of Beckett.

McKay knew that sounded like he didn't appreciate Carson Beckett's academic prowess in the field of medicine - he could already see the man had a way of elevating medicine into the realm of true science on occasion.  
But that did not make him infallible.  
Not by a longshot.

"Don't even start with me, Rodney," Beckett warned as he and McKay stood in the middle of the circus of shifting people and equipment, necks straining in their recline to see the hole in the ceiling above them. "It's not my fault. You're the one who made sit in the chair. You're the one…"  
"And you're the one who activated the drone," McKay replied, arms crossed in front of him. "We're all going to get hypothermia and die because of you."

Okay, so maybe McKay could concede - he was being a tad bit melodramatic.  
But he wasn't the one to fire off the drone that nearly killed an Air Force general, was he?  
No, that was the man standing beside him right now, arms folded across his chest as their necks both strained with the weight of holding their heads at an angle where they might stand a chance at seeing the damage near the top of the dome.  
How could he (Dr. Rodney McKay) have possibly known that asking a medical doctor with the Ancient gene to visualize their location in the universe would set such a terrible series of nearly unfortunate events into motion?

No. Not a single ounce of this was his fault.  
Beckett would just have to accept that and move on to other things - like life-saving research that would never be done in the Milky Way Galaxy.

"I don't think that's true."

Both men looked down and to their right at the sound of their expedition leader's voice.  
Dr. Elizabeth Weir, peacemaker extraordinaire, with a pedigree designed specifically for making the negotiations of some of the most notoriously contentious treaties look like a walking the park.  
If McKay was on the tenure track equivalent for a Nobel Prize in physics (which, by the way, he knew he was), then Dr. Weir was on a similar track towards the Peace Prize.  
He could respect that.

"Elizabeth, I am so incredibly…"

Words of apology just continued to fall from Beckett's lips.  
Why couldn't he just be a man about it when he was around other men and admit that it was his responsibility.

"I know, Carson," Weir said, and McKay felt himself start bristling at the empathy in her voice. "I hate to tear you away, but there are a few people who weren't able to avoid the falling glass in the infirmary. I thought you might want to be the one to take a look at them."  
_Really? You're going to empathize with the biggest threat to this planet's security right now?_

"Aye-" Beckett let out a long sigh. "Thank you, Elizabeth."  
"Of course," Weir replied, the slightest of gracious smiles cracking her lips.

She waited until Beckett was gone to address McKay again. "I assume you'll want to get back to work as soon as everything is rearranged to your satisfaction?"

He nodded.  
Every second the team wasted on getting reorganized was one they could have used analyzing data – both from the drone incident and Major Sheppard's time in the chair.  
So much data, so much to try to understand, and if they were going to be leaving for the city of the Ancients, they needed to know as much as they possibly could.  
Maybe that way, the flying city wouldn't be so much of a damn mystery when they got there.

But it would also be worth it to make sure that if everything was going to be moved, then it would be moved correctly.  
Minimal interruption – that was the goal he aspired to for this afternoon.

"Very well." Weir's head came forward in that half-nod of understanding and agreement McKay didn't quite know what to do with yet. "As you were, Dr. McKay."  
"As you were, Dr. Weir."

And he watched as she walked away, the faintest of skips in her step-  
Like this expedition into a new galaxy was the one thing she had been working towards her entire life, and she was doing everything she could to contain her excitement because her one dream was finally coming true.  
It was possibly, he conceded in the half second before letting the thoughts of complaint about how she was already using military jargon take over as he went back to work, that Dr. Elizabeth Weir might have imagined herself becoming an astronaut as a kid, being like Captain Kirk and exploring strange new worlds in other galaxies.  
In that case, maybe he would be skipping, too.


	2. Episode 1x01 No 2

_"I have read your own file, General. Please." – Weir  
"Okay – it's your expedition. You ask him." – O'Neil_

* * *

There it is, in stark, block-typed black print against the crispy white word processing document currently open on Elizabeth's computer screen.  
If she happened to be looking for a reason to prevent herself from asking Major John Sheppard to join her expedition team, this would be it.  
Disobeying direct orders from a superior officer in the heat of battle-  
But he'd done it to save three of his fellow soldiers.

A man who would do that…  
Well, he wasn't just a rare species – he was a necessary addition to the group that would be going through the gate into the Pegasus Galaxy.  
The lives of the men and women putting themselves in harm's way were just as important as the ones they were there to protect.  
It seemed as if Sheppard understood that principle –  
In practice, at the very least.  
Not to mention that he made operating the chair (and other Ancient technology) look like child's play.  
McKay was, no doubt, more than a little unhappy with that turn of events, but his ego needed a prick every once in a while.  
He would be fine.

Decision made, Elizabeth shut the files, closed her computer, and rose from her desk.  
General O'Neil would be leaving soon, and there were two people she needed to speak with before that happened.  
If she really wanted John Sheppard on her team, it was going to be now or never.  
Hopefully now, and more than hopefully not never.

* * *

He wasn't saying no, but the silence hanging so heavily in the air felt like something other than the answer Elizabeth was looking for.

She fought to hold herself back, keep from spewing so many words that might convince the man in front of her he was the right man for the job-  
That he was going to be a key component to this expedition.  
The silence was what kept her words and excitement in check.

Well, that and John Sheppard's overall skittishness – the way his eyes darted around the base while personnel worked to clean up damage caused by the drown and stayed away from making actual contact with anyone's.  
She remembered all too well just how overwhelming it was to realize there really was alien life out there, and that there was contact with them, and an entire system of travel between galaxies very few people knew existed…  
Add on top of that the news that you're one of the few with the exact genetic makeup to work the technology of those who created that system?  
She could see where all he really wanted to do was get out of here and either process it or try to forget it ever happened.

Honestly, she hoped for the first, but expected the second.  
Plus, if she had to use it, she knew she had an ace in the hole with O'Neil. If she couldn't get to Sheppard, then the head of the Stargate program would.

"Just take a little time to consider it, Major," Elizabeth said, taking a step backwards and clapping her hands together for the briefest of moments. "That's all I ask."  
"Okay," Sheppard replied, although the faintest hardening in his eyes spoke volumes. He didn't really want to consider it, but he would be diplomatic here.  
Another skill that would come in handy.  
"Thank you."

That said, Elizabeth turned and headed back to the conference area, where General O'Neil was waiting, unable to help herself from listening to the sound of footfall as Sheppard headed for the elevator to take him back up to the helicopter to prepare for his departure.  
At this moment, she doubted Sheppard would say yes, but she had to have him.  
So General O'Neil it was.


	3. Episode 1x02 No 1

_"I shot him… in the leg." – Sheppard_

* * *

"So… it's a shield."

Sheppard stares at the metal and stone McKay clutches like it's the key to survival of the human race.  
It looks like nothing – just some intricate metal work that makes a piece of rock into a pretty trinket that can be taken home from the fairgrounds.  
Before that fateful day flying General O'Neil to the research base in Antarctica, that was all he would have taken it as.  
Now that he has this gene that turns things on in this new city (on a new planet in a virtually unexplored galaxy) and makes them usable and… well… stuff, everything is different.  
A spade isn't a spade until it's proven it's a spade these days.

"A personal shield, yes," McKay goes on, still holding the thing as if his life depends on it. "And I think the user needs the ATA gene to activate it."  
_Should have known, _Sheppard thinks, wanting to shake his head.  
Of course he's in high demand to test out this crap – he's shown the greatest ability out of everyone in the gene pool to use Ancient tech.  
_Should have known. _"And you want to test it out."

"Yes," McKay answers enthusiastically, and Sheppard imagines that if his hand weren't so tightly wrapped around the stupid thing, there would be two thumbs pointed straight up towards the sky with a shady smile that would make sane people run for the hills.  
He's too enthusiastic, but Sheppard bites back the urge to point it out.  
As unenthusiastic as Sheppard is about constantly being pulled to the side to be a guinea pig, he does have to admit (to himself) that it would be kind of cool to try this little guy out.  
Not to mention that a shield would be more than a little bit useful against the Wraith.  
_Might be why they made it in the first place.  
_"On me."

McKay's face scrunches up like a pit bull for half a second in confusion before he lets out a small laugh, and shakes his head. "No, on me."

The words stop Sheppard as he's about to hold his hand out for the device.  
He has to let silence take over for a second while he gathers his thoughts, mostly because it doesn't make any sense. _What the hell is going on?  
_"Wh- whoa, wait a second. You don't have the gene."

A grin splits McKay's face nearly in half. "Actually, I do. Beckett just gave me the gene therapy this morning."

_Right…  
_The thought of someone else being in high demand for their ability to make use of things around here is incredibly appealing, but Sheppard's not so sure McKay's the right guy to have it.  
He might be a scientist, but he's also a whiner, complainer, severe hypochondriac and general pain in the ass.  
Those can't be good qualities for someone who carries the gene.

"How do you know it worked?"  
That's the best Sheppard can come up with in the way of objections without sounding like a complete ass himself.  
It's also nowhere near enough, because the grin doesn't disappear. "If it activates, then we know they both work and you'll help me test the limits."

The shield and the therapy – Sheppard's following. "And if it doesn't activate?"  
"Then Beckett's therapy didn't work, and you can put on the shield." The pained expression that makes the grin falter for a second isn't lost on Sheppard as McKay speaks. "Deal?"

Sheppard nods, trying to keep his own sudden excitement under wraps. "Deal."

* * *

Damn it if the device doesn't light up like a lightning bug -  
_Like something you'd see in a sci-fi novel. Or on tv.  
_Except now that excuse doesn't fly because they're living in what feels like a low budget sci-fi movie.  
At least, that's how Sheppard feels right now as he loads up his P-14, and checks to make sure everything is in order.  
No telling how much trouble he could get into if this doesn't work out and McKay ends up in the infirmary.  
_Elizabeth is definitely not going to love that…_

"You're sure that's the gun you want to go with?" McKay asks, right foot impatiently tapping the ground like he wants to get this over with.  
Or he's hearing an exceptionally good beat to a song.  
Hell, maybe it's both.

"Bullet's a bullet," Sheppard replies, shoves the clip in, and raises an eyebrow when his gaze meets McKay's again. "Are you sure you want me to shoot at you?"  
"Of course I'm sure." Not even a moment of hesitation on McKay's part. "Do you really think I would have asked you if I didn't?"

Good point, but that isn't all there is to the matter, and Sheppard knows it.  
"I think I'm the only one you knew for sure wouldn't try to shoot you in a spot where it would kill you if the shield failed."

To his credit, McKay doesn't deny it. "That, too. Now, Major, you know to shoot at a non-"  
"-Vital spot so if the shield fails, you won't be too badly hurt," Sheppard cuts him off and finishes for him. "Yes, I do. This isn't my first rodeo."  
"Are you saying that you've done this kind of thing before? Because if so, then maybe this wasn't…"  
"It'll be fine. I'll shoot you in the leg. Away from any major arteries. It'll hurt like a bitch, but you'll be back on your foot in no time."  
"Back on…"  
"Focus, McKay. Testing the shield. Are you ready?"  
"It'll hurt like a…" Now McKay sounds a little bit panicked. Damn, if that was all it took, then maybe Sheppard should have said something before he let McKay tap the device against his chest.

"It'll be fine." Sheppard waves his pistol in a general direction away from the shelves. "And I know the perfect spot to do it."

* * *

The perfect spot is on a balcony outside the main tower, where people can see if they're looking, but most people aren't looking.  
And the shielding the Ancients used should be sound-proof enough that shots fired won't immediately bring people running.  
Sheppard has McKay stand up against the wall – at McKay's insistence.

"When the bullet ricochets, you'll have more space to move to avoid it," he says as Sheppard starts stepping backwards.  
"And you'll have something to fall against if the shield doesn't work," Sheppard points out as he comes to a stop. "Ready?"  
McKay nods, so Sheppard draws his gun and fires.

Once, twice, three times in quick succession.  
Then he finds he has to throw himself out of the way as the bullets come flying back in his direction.  
McKay is smirking as Sheppard pushes himself up to his feet again after flattening himself on the deck.  
"Not disappointed, are you, Major?"

That the shots didn't do a damn thing? Yes.  
That the shield actually works? Hell, no.  
"What other testing did you have in mind, McKay?"


	4. Episode 1x02 No 2

_"Look. I need to know everything you touched." – McKay_

* * *

This is new.  
It is new, and very, very different.  
Then again, everything about this place is new and different, and no matter how much the adults say this will become more familiar with time, Jinto is not convinced.  
Not when doors open up into rooms with things on the wall that light up and zap him to other places in the city completely.  
Not when the stars in the night sky are hidden behind walls and unable to light his path.  
And not when – as awesome as it is – he can hear the waves when he closes his eyes and concentrates on the sounds that are not footsteps and people and things being shifted.

He's not scared, though.  
Not really, anyway.  
This is amazing, almost too exciting to believe – especially because the boxes from Earth came here with him.  
Maybe he can peek inside them without-

The thought departs as soon as Jinto steps around the boxes and looks out into the room.  
_Ohhhhhh…  
_Tables and buttons like in the control room (as those from Earth called the main room) and things in the wall like in the room he just came out of…  
This is officially the best room he's been in in all of the city.

So Jinto doesn't stop himself from running his fingers across the tables.  
There is a lot of dirt, like no one has been in this room for a very, very long time-  
Maybe not since the Ancestors lived here.

That thought is kind of scary, and Jinto pauses for a minute because of it.  
This really is the Ancestors' city.  
The Ancestors are _real._

In that pause, he looks up and sees _it_.  
Metal and some other things, and it's kind of flickering – like a candle inside of a glass lamp, but the glass can't be seen through completely.  
And there's a slight werrr-whooshing sound coming from it.  
Maybe there's something in there.

Jinto's fingers run across the top of the thing until they touch a button.  
Quickly, before he thinks twice, he pushes it, and steps back, waiting to see what happens.  
The dimmed lights in the room flicker for maybe half a moment in response, but nothing else.  
Content with knowing it wasn't much of anything, Jinto presses the button again (because it's what he's seen the people from Earth do when they press buttons), then starts looking around again.

Maybe it's time to get back to his room.


	5. Episode 1x03 No 1

**_A/N:_**_ First, I thought this was going to be the roughest episode to find moments out of because of the way it was written.  
I was really happy when moment after moment just jumped out at me.  
So happy, in fact, that it's taken me awhile to focus and figure out which ones to include._

_Second, 38 Minutes is seriously one of my favorite episodes of any TV show to be playing in the background while I'm writing – probably because it's not as formulaic as some of the Stargate episodes can be.  
Of course I want to do it justice.  
Hoping I do._

_Third, this "moment" is really two moments, but because they're the same type of moment with two different characters, I thought it logical to throw the two into the same chapter._

_Fourth, reviews are like chocolate – a treat I never turn down. J_

* * *

_"Atlantis Base, this is Ford. Jumper One is inbound with a medical emergency. Please respond." – Ford_

* * *

"All right, then, that should do it."  
Beckett can't help the smile on his face as he hands the syringe off to the nurse assisting to be properly disposed of.  
It has been a nightmare attempting to coordinate schedules in such a way as to run the base staff through the first human trials of the ATA gene therapy.

Kavanagh has, maybe not so surprisingly, been the most difficult staff member to nail down, and is the primary reason it has taken so long-  
Outside of the reorganization efforts being led by Marie in the infirmary as they settle in, of course.

"It had better be," Kavanagh grumbles as he slides down off the bed. "I was in the middle of running simulations…"

_Insufferable ass_, Beckett thinks, but locks the words away inside of his mind.  
As much as he thrives on being around people, and being able to help them, Kavanagh is one of the few people alive that is capable of making it onto Carson Beckett's list of people to avoid as much as reasonably possible.  
Smug, arrogant, self-righteous…  
The man has an ego the size of Rodney McKay's, and about fifty to seventy-five percent of the intelligence McKay has to back it up-  
And fifty percent is generous, in Beckett's opinion.

"Dr. Beckett and medical team to the control room, we have an incoming emergency…"

The words cut through Beckett's rapidly digressing train of thought like a hot knife through butter.  
Although he's been expecting something of the like all day – Major Sheppard's team out on a reconnaissance mission to the Wraith planet where their first major encounter had taken place.  
He couldn't help thinking an emergency might crop up as a result of such a thing when he heard the mission was a go.

"I'll finish clearing up," the assisting nurse says.  
Beckett nods, peels his gloves off, and picks up his radio to answer the call. "On our way."

* * *

_"All right – let me put Kavanagh, Simpson, and Grodin in a room, see what they can come up with." – Weir  
"That's good. And the Czech, the Czech… the Czech whose name I can never remember…" – McKay  
"Dr. Zalenka?" – Weir  
"That's him…." – McKay_

* * *

Today has been a quiet day.  
Thankfully, today has been a quiet day because, after issuing instructions on which projects the team needs to work on and which person needs to work on which portion in his absence, McKay left for a reconnaissance mission-  
The importance of such a thing being McKay's primary topic of discussion post-instruction giving.  
Zalenka had, honestly, tuned out and started to work as soon as he knew what he was supposed to be doing.  
He had not been in the mood to engage in a round of arguments when he knew he was going to be able to work in peace.

And working in peace has been exactly what he's done today.  
Kavanagh was pulled aside to have the gene therapy administered, and Simpson and Grodin were far more tolerable cohorts to accomplish tasks with than either Kavanagh or McKay.

Until his radio comes to life as he's about to start another round of simulations.  
"Kavanagh, Simpson, Grodin and Zalenka to the control room. We have an emergency. Repeat…"  
He waits until the radio shuts off to pick up his radio and see what is happening.

The news is not pretty.  
Drive pod not retracting, and McKay only has access to the control panels in the back of the jumper.  
Oh, and there are only thirty minutes between now and when the gate shuts down, exposing the team in the jumper to hard vacuum.  
Simpson and Grodin head immediately for the conference room for a more detailed briefing (Kavanagh hasn't returned yet from receiving the gene therapy), but there is only one thought in Zalenka's head.  
Try to identify control pathways.  
Get to the jumper bay.

And that's where he goes, with a couple of technicians flanking him –  
Because just throwing scientists into a room with a schematic of the jumper will not be enough if they want to fix this.


	6. Episode 1x03 No 2

**_A/N:_**

_First, you might want to read the previous chapter if you haven't already, as this plays off of a few things at the start of that. It's not completely necessary, but you won't be scratching your head if you do it, either._

_Second, I did bump the rating up to T, because some of the language started flying a little bit this chapter, and I just wanted to play it safe on that score. I do so hate it when there is no warning about that (rating change, not the language itself)._

_Third, I am opening up my inbox to suggestions of future "moments" to include. As big as my imagination is, I know I can't possibly come up with all the possible moments we didn't see on screen that we wanted to. Message me if you think of anything!_

_And fourth, thank you for all of the review so far – they're wonderful. Keep 'em coming, please? Thank you!_

* * *

_"Now, please worry a little bit more about their lives, and less about your own ass." – Weir_

* * *

Today is a bad day that just cannot stop getting worse, as far as Kavanagh is concerned.  
Granted, the start was good.  
McKay gone a mission? Less annoyance all around.

But then Dr. Beckett had to come and interrupt simulations for a stupid shot.

Yes, in hindsight, it had been a mistake to put his name on the list of volunteers for the gene therapy that _might_ give him the ability to use all the Ancient tech lying around.  
Kavanagh blames it now on a moment of lunacy -  
Caving in to peer pressure.  
He can't lie, though, that the thought of how potentially convenient it would be to have it did make the cave happen in the first place.

That would be why Kavanagh is now in the middle of the conference room with an ache in his leg and an ache in his head from the alarm that won't shut off-  
Except it is literally shut off now and has been for a while now, and is now just an endless loop in his brain.  
Not exactly helpful when you're trying to work with a group of scientists squabbling over the best way to retract a drive pod and get the jumper stuck in the Stargate home again.

Also not helpful is the tiny twinge of resentment Kavanagh has towards McKay right now -  
Because McKay would be the one to get himself into a situation like this, with everything set up for him to be the last minute hero of the day.  
It might not be a pattern yet, but Kavanagh can see it emerging anyway.  
Two for two?  
Someday it will be a three for three, then a four for four…  
The idea just doesn't sit well in his stomach.

And the Czech diva, Dr. Zalenka?  
Oh, well that is the icing on top of the heaping pile of shit that is this day.  
He's too good to come to the conference room… he has to go straight to the jumper bay with his research team at his heels.  
Like fiddling around with a jumper is going to be the key.  
There's just _no_ time for that.

All of that together makes it nearly impossible for Kavanagh to think positively about anything right now.  
The one bright spot is that if something happens to McKay, at least someone slightly less obnoxious will lead the science team.  
Thank god for potential small favors.

Maybe it's because of all the negativity in the air that Kavanagh sees the potential problem first.  
Damage to the jumper is, of course, how the drive pod failed to retract properly.  
How much time have they spent as part of the SGC putting pieces of Ancient tech it receives here and there under the microscope and through its paces?  
Every moment they aren't working on how to save the galaxy from one emergency or another.  
Ancient tech has some redundancies (what system doesn't?), but unless there's damage, it's absolutely unnecessary to tweak it.  
In a perfect state, it is the perfect operating system.  
Interrupt it, though…

An interruption is where they're at now, too, because the front half of the jumper is inside the event horizon.  
Cockpit controllers are interrupted…  
His fingers stray along a schematic from the cockpit to the main drive as his mind starts running the calculations.  
Oh, shit.  
_Oh, shit…_

Explosion.  
He has to say something. NOW.


	7. Episode 1x03 No 3

_**A/N:**_

_My apologies for the gigantic space between updates on this story. Life simply has a way of becoming busier than I planned and robbing me of free time to write things. It'll be a few weeks before things calm down again, and I will do my best to update this in a timely manner between now and then, but no real promises._

* * *

_"Well, we were on our way back to the jumper..." Sheppard_

* * *

This situation is far more certain doom than McKay ever imagined he would be in.  
Then again, he never actually thought he would be millions of light years away from home, trapped in a gateship (yes, he still calls it a gateship - if Major Sheppard survives, he can suck it) with a seemingly irretractable drive pod, trying to get it to budge and praying it happened before hard vacuum or Wraith ships got to them.  
Because, in his mind, the Wraith are always a possibility now.  
He really doesn't want to get into all of nightmares that idea produces...  
Especially not when he's supposed to be tracking down control pathways.  
Although, generally speaking, doing that is a bit tedious.  
Outside of the whole 'how are we going to die' aspect-

Because McKay isn't totally convinced, despite all the effort he's putting in, that this is going to work.  
There are thousands of pathways, and even if they had a hundred people running tests back on Atlantis right now, it would still take hours they don't have to correctly identify the one to the drive pods.

_At least I don't have to explain what I'm doing to fifty million people,_ he tells himself as he starts running down another pathway.  
And this lets him think about something other than gigantic alien bugs attaching themselves to human necks and killing them.

The thought alone makes McKay nauseous.

But it is, in fact, a good distraction for Ford and Teyla.  
They're not questioning what he's doing - Sheppard has all of their attention.

McKay tries not to let his muttering become visible, because there's too much they might try to make him explain right now that he doesn't have the time to explain.  
But then Sheppard asks for Beckett on the radio, and all pretense is lost for a second.  
Not only does McKay have to listen through the rewind... he has to relive it.

_Knuckle down, Rodney. Knuckle down and get it down.  
_It doesn't do it completely, but it's enough.  
For now, it's enough.


	8. Episode 1x04 No 1

"_I was… unaware a meeting had been called." – Teyla_

"_Let's take a walk." – Sheppard_

* * *

He's not enthusiastic about the changes in security protocol.

Not enthusiastic is an understatement, actually, but when the only evidence Sheppard can – in all practicality – offer as to why the new measures should not be taken is his gut…  
Well, if he were Weir, he might not be swayed, either.  
Loathe as he is to admit it in this moment.

And Bates…  
Well, Sheppard isn't completely sure Bates has seen the Athosians as anything nicer than a nuisance since their arrival.  
Plus the whole 'you put a bullet in our commanding officer's brain' thing…  
Yes, Bates has to be aware that there wasn't much else Sheppard could have done at that moment.  
Billions of lives for a second's hesitation over pulling a trigger and ending a life that was going to be taken away…  
Who knows if anyone else would have been able to do the same?

But knowing something has to be done and doing that something are not the same thing.  
It wouldn't be much of a surprise if Bates wanted to hold it over his head-  
And being harsher than necessary to those friendly to Sheppard because of it.

He can't say he disagrees with most of the changes.  
The problem is definitely with Bates, his attitude, and his automatic assumption that the Athosians are intentionally guilty of the possible security breach.

"Major Sheppard, if you would be so kind…" Weir is saying now.  
So kind as to inform Teyla of the changes going into effect right now.  
Sheppard nods in agreement, for no other reason than that Dr. Weir is too tense, Bates is too smug, McKay is too blunt, and Ford…  
Well, Sheppard knows his friendship with Teyla is stronger than anyone else's, and right now he's the one least likely to rile her antagonism towards a perceived slight against her people like the implementation of the new protocols is going to suggest.

"Of course," he says in addition to the nod, just in case the head gesture hasn't been enough to communicate his assent.  
His eyes scan the table, but no one seems to be indicating anything other than their agreement to stay the course.

"Very well, then." Weir returns his nod. "Let's go, then."

Sheppard lingers a moment behind the rest of the group, stomach churning ever so slightly.  
Nothing feels right, but there's nothing he can do to stop it.  
Meaning it's time for him to suck it up, go out there, tell his friend what is going on, and ask her to forgiveness for any number of slights that are undoubtedly headed her people's way.


	9. Episode 1x04 No 2

"_Heard they got the sun roof open on the jumper bay." – Ford_

* * *

Tensions over the new security measures are so thick, a machete seems to be the only thing capable of cutting them.  
Speculation over who is responsible for the ongoing leaks in security is the wiring that connects the individual chunks.  
And those wires are alive and parking when Lieutenant Ford steps into the mess hall a few minutes into the lunch hour.

The spark, he learns as he walks past a table of scientists, isn't about anything to do with measures, though.  
"…roof opened…" he heard Simpson saying.

Ford suppresses the grin threatening to burst his face wide open, and doesn't linger to hear anything else.  
Not only would the lingering draw unwanted attention, but he doesn't really need to stick around and see what they're saying.  
If anyone knows anything of substance about a roof opening somewhere in the city, it's McKay.  
Hell, McKay was probably one of the guys there when it opened.  
Or was the one to open it.  
Any way one chooses to spin it, though, McKay is the best possible inside intel Ford could hope to get his hands on because he doesn't know how not to shut up when he's made (or wants credit for) a new and awesome discovery.  
Luckily, Ford has the excuse of being on the same gate team to break through the crowd that has formed and get the real info.  
All he has to do is play his cards right…  
And get himself close enough to the table to touch it.

The act of getting there takes Ford longer than he'd like, but it helps that people are dispersing (although not because McKay is winding down… if anything, he seems to be getting warmed up).  
Despite the departures, McKay seems to still be in good spirits as Ford snags a chair to sit down.

"You heard the good news, then?" McKay says.  
"I heard the roof is open," Ford replies, leaning forward in his seat. "I just figured you would know something."  
"We opened it this morning." McKay is stumbling over the words as they come out in his excitement, and all Ford can think is _Bingo. Jackpot._ "Over the Gateship bay."

This is entirely _too_ easy.  
And it thrills Ford to no end to know that the name "Gateship" lives on.  
On top of the idea that _someone_ is going to have to explore the planet…  
Well, he's almost giddy.

"Major Sheppard's going out in about half an hour," McKay goes on, either completely oblivious to Ford's drifting thoughts, or else completely aware of what is going through Ford's head at this very moment and playing on it. "Someone might want to go with him.

Someone meaning basically everyone on the base.  
It means Ford is going to have to come up with a bribe yesterday and track Sheppard down _quickly_ if he wants a shot at going.

"I think Jesse's in the kitchen today," McKay says as Ford rises to his feet. "Maybe you can talk her into getting you something to go."

Oh, he's good.  
And a little bit too observant today for Ford's taste, but that is beside the point.  
It is beside the point because Ford knows exactly what to do now.

Jesse's a little younger than him, cute, and a soft touch.  
He knows that because he's seen her go weak in the knees over Sheppard often enough when the Major's asked to take something to go for some excuse or another.  
She might deny Ford, but she would never deny his superior.

"Thanks," Ford tosses over his shoulder, and quickens his pace.  
This is going to work-  
As long as he can get his hands on a turkey sandwich.


	10. Episode 1x04 No 3

_Author's Note:  
1) It is good to be back.  
2) This chapter is working off of the previous chapter and Sheppard's perception of Bates and his attitude. I realize we don't all interpret Bates during season 1 in the same way, but if you can promise to try to see this chapter through that lens, you won't be disappointed!_

* * *

Teyla has finally been detained.  
Whatever Major Sheppard has to say on the matter, at least Bates can rest in the knowledge that she is in custody.  
Also, he knows Dr. Weir has his back.  
That makes it a lot easier to deal with Sheppard and his inconsistent, incoherent ramblings about how the woman can be trusted.

All jewelry and other extraneous items have been removed from Teyla's person, the detail assigned to her reports.  
They're holding it for him when he has a minute to come and collect it.

Good news, especially because it must mean Teyla is in a mood to be cooperative.  
_Finally_, Bates thinks. _We might actually get a few answers that make sense here without Captain America going ape-shit crazy and keeping us away from them._

* * *

Teyla's posture is tense, her frame tightly coiled as she sits on the bench inside the cell.  
She looks like she could spring to attack at a moment's notice.  
Thankfully, she's behind bars, and there's a shield that prevents her from reaching out and grabbing someone to demand her freedom.  
_God bless the Ancients…_

"Here's what was on the prisoner when she got here," one of the specialists says as he hands Bates a burlap sack.  
Her P-90 must already be back in the armory.  
No big deal – he'll have the guys there tear it apart and make sure nothing's in it.  
The key to this whole mess is now in his hands, though.  
He can feel it.

"How is Lieutenant Ford?"  
Both Bates and the specialist he's been talking to look up at the sound of Teyla's voice.  
She's standing now, walking towards the row of bars nearest to them.  
If he hadn't gotten a report from medical already as to the younger man's condition, he wouldn't bother to give her a response, but since he already has it, and she did (whatever her motivation) bring Ford back through the gate when she could have left him behind…  
Well, if it will secure a little bit more of her cooperation, he might as well give it to her.

"Still unconscious," he answers, wincing a little bit inwardly when he is unable to completely keep the bite out of his tone.  
_Well, what do you expect? She's responsible for this entire mess…_

"I am not responsible for what happened," she goes on, her own voice clipping.  
And the fact that she is defending herself from what he is thinking?  
Well, how do they know that the Athosians don't have some creepy mind-reading trick up their sleeves somewhere?

"You'll have to pardon my skepticism," he replies, tapping the barrel of the rifle as he does so.

"The evidence will prove my innocence."

Just like that, the clip disappears from her voice, and Bates is a bit disappointed.  
He was expecting more drama, more fire breathing, more…  
Something more than the nothing she says as she turns around to take her seat on the bench.  
Just stares at nothing and no one in particular.  
It's pretty damn creepy.

"Thank you, Specialist."  
Bates turns his attention away from her, and back to the task at hand because this needs to get done.  
Also, he really doesn't want Teyla to think she has him rattled.  
"Yes, sir," the Specialist answers.

Bates takes his exit, then, dropping by the armory to see if they have Teyla's weapon.  
They do, he confirms, and he gives them the order to tear it apart, reminding them to set aside anything that looks a little suspicious for inspection later.  
He is _not_ going to get put through the wringer for leaving stone unturned.

Once that's done, Bates heads for the science department.  
There's only one person he trusts to find a transmitter amongst the bag's contents.  
McKay might not like it, but he can be convinced to get the job done.

Of that, Bates is certain.


End file.
